In a piece in this morning's N.Y. TIMES, Francois Carrard,
Dir General of the IOC, explains why his organization disregarded
a $701M offer by Rupert Murdoch's Fox Sports for the rights to
the 2000 Sydney Summer Games and chose to deal with NBC on the
rights to Sydney and Salt Lake 2002. Carrard, to the N.Y. TIMES'
Richard Sandomir: "Fox's bid was not a bid. It was more a
proposal. It was not credible enough. Nothing prevents the IOC
from determining whether an oral or written proposal is valid.
The IOC had a right to do what it did." But Fox TV Chair Chase
Carey claims that their bid was "legitimate." One industry exec
familiar with the Olympic bidding process: "If I bid like Fox,
I'd expect a response from the IOC if someone else stepped in,
and for them to say to both of us, 'See you at the auction.'"
Carrard: "Money isn't the only thing that counts. It's also the
level of Olympic expertise and cultural interest in the Olympic
movement." NBC's Don Ohlmeyer: "If the people you're
comfortable with come up with the cash, you make the deal" (N.Y.
TIMES, 8/18).
